Charles Joseph O'Reilly | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Lincoln | |
 | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Diocese of Lincoln |
| Appointed | March 20, 1918 |
| Term ended | February 4, 1923 (his death) |
| Predecessor | John Henry Tihen |
| Successor | Francis Beckman |
| Other post | Bishop of Baker City (1903-1918) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | June 29, 1890 by William Hickley Gross |
| Consecration | August 25, 1903 by Alexander Christie |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1860-01-04)January 4, 1860 Saint John,New Brunswick, Canada |
| Died | February 4, 1923(1923-02-04) (aged 63) |
| Education | Grand Seminary of Montreal |
| Motto | In domino confido (I trust in the Lord) |
Charles Joseph O'Reilly (January 4, 1860 – February 4, 1923) was a Canadian-born American prelate of theCatholic Church. He served as the first bishop of theDiocese of Baker City in Oregon (1903–1918) and the third bishop of theDiocese of Lincoln in Nebraska (1918–1923).
O'Reilly was born on January 4, 1860, inSaint John,New Brunswick, to Peter and Bridget (née Walsh) O'Reilly.[1] His sister Margaret joined theVisitation Sisters inTacoma, Washington.[2]
O'Reilly received his early education under theChristian Brothers in Saint John. He then attendedSt. Joseph's College inMemramcook, New Brunswick, graduating with aMaster of Arts.[1]
In 1884, O'Reilly moved with his family to the United States, settling inPortland,Oregon.[3] He served as principal of St. Michael's College in Portland until 1885, when the Christian Brothers took charge of the school.[3] Deciding to become a priest, O'Reilly studied for the priesthood at theGrand Seminary in Montreal, Quebec.[2]
After returning to Portland, O'Reilly was ordained into the priesthood for theArchdiocese of Oregon City on June 29, 1890, by ArchbishopWilliam Gross.[4]
Following his ordination, the archdiocese assigned O'Reilly to missions inLake Oswego andTigard, Oregon, erecting churches at both locations.[3] He was named pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in theAlbina neighborhood of Portland in 1894.[1] During his pastorate, he established himself as "a firm believer intotal abstinence" from alcohol consumption. He founded a boys' club to deter young Catholic men from "frequenting the saloons and other resorts."[5]
In addition to his pastoral duties, O'Reilly worked as editor of theCatholic Sentinel, the archdiocesan newspaper, in 1900.[3]
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On June 25, 1903, O'Reilly was appointed bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Baker City byPope Leo XIII.[4] O'Reilly received his episcopal consecration atSaint Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland on August 25, 1903, from ArchbishopAlexander Christie, with BishopsAlphonse Glorieux andEdward O'Dea serving as co-consecrators.[4]
The new diocese consisted of more than 65,000 square miles east of theCascade Mountains in Oregon, which O'Reilly described as "terra incognita".[5] It was said that Archbishop Christie had relegated discontented priests from the archdiocese to Baker City.[6] On O'Reilly's arrival in Baker City, he was greeted by four armed priests.[7] When O'Reilly later tried to reassign Louis P. Desmarais, one of those armed priests, to another parish, he refused. In response, O'Reilly personally ejected him from the church property; Desmarais responded by suing O'Reilly for assault and battery.[8]
O'Reilly laid the cornerstone ofSaint Francis de Sales Cathedral in Baker in 1906, dedicating the building in 1908.[7] He also completed a new 115-bed facility forSt. Elizabeth Hospital in Baker in 1915.[2] With financial assistance from theCatholic Church Extension Society in Chicago, Illinois, he increased the number of parishes in the diocese from six in 1903 to 25 in 1918.[3]
O'Reilly was named the third bishop of Lincoln on March 20, 1918, byPope Benedict XV.[4] As opposed to his arrival in Baker City, O'Reilly received a warm welcome inLincoln, Nebraska, with a reception attended by Nebraska GovernorKeith Neville.[3]
Early into his tenure at Lincoln, O'Reilly had to contend with the1918 influenza pandemic, which claimed the lives of many priests and religious sisters.[9] He traveled to Rome in 1921 to recruit more priests, especially for the largeCzech-speaking population in the diocese.[9] During his five years as bishop, he established six new parochial schools and three new parishes.[9]
Already suffering fromarteriosclerosis, O'Reilly fell in December 1922, leaving him confined toSt. Elizabeth's Hospital in Lincoln for the final two months of his life.[3] O'Reilly died in Lincoln on February 4, 1923, at age 63.[2]
| Catholic Church titles | ||
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| Preceded by none | Bishop of Baker City 1903–1918 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Bishop of Lincoln 1918–1923 | Succeeded by |
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